Messaging systems have become popular with the increased usage of personal computers (PCs) and the development of computer networks that can link the same to enable communications between them to occur. For example, electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) are provided for the purposes of sharing and exchanging electronic messages, and other files, in an analogous way that bulletin boards were used before the advent of electronic communication to post messages on, and which could be posted, read, and replied to, by large numbers of people. BBS's were originally independent of the Internet, but now many—if not most—have their own web sites, and messages and files are posted and read using the Internet to access the Bulletin Board. Typically, BBS's are used to allow people with shared hobbies and interest to share ideas etc. BBS's are also used as a means of selling products.
The Internet has extended the accessibility and the functionality of the BBS concept to provide for real time messaging in its own right. This tends to be embodied in what are generally termed instant messaging systems and in chat rooms.
Instant messaging systems provide a medium using the Internet and a service provider or transaction server, though which users or clients of a variety of different types can send and receive messages directly to and from one another. Specific messaging groups of ‘buddies’ can be formed so that messages are sent and received group-wide. The direct nature of this type of messaging is akin to email over the Internet, but can involve different client types. It dispenses with the posting of messages on a virtual or electronic bulletin board and instead is more concerned with direct transfer of a message from one client to an intended recipient or group of recipients. Thus instant messaging tends to be more user-specific, where individual users and the desire of one user to communicate a message to another user or group of buddy users, who generally are known to each other, drive it.
Chat rooms tend to retain the bulletin board concept by providing a virtual bulletin board where messages are retained and displayed sequentially to clients accessing the room. This still involves a downloading of messages to clients accessing the room and in this sense involves more or less instant messaging. However, chat rooms tend to be more subject matter specific and adopt a bulletin board type format that is more conducive to the transfer of information about a particular subject to a number of interested users or clients accessing the room. Access can be open to anybody accessing the server hosting the room, or can be restricted requiring membership and password access. The types of subject matter are limitless, where specific rooms can be set up for educational purposes, personal purposes and e-commerce of one description or another.
For example, a chat room may be specifically operated as a dating or personal matching service for members or clients accessing the room. A chat room may also be specifically operated for discussing or providing information on a particular topic of interest to persons accessing the session, eg Teenager Troubles, or Patent Protection for Business Methods.
The idea of a chat room can be extended further to provide for trade, such as a forum for buying and selling products amongst persons accessing the session where items or products are auctioned or otherwise traded.
For Internet based messaging systems such as instant messaging systems, BBS's, chat rooms, auction rooms etc, a user is required to “log in” to the server hosting the same in order to participate. This usually requires the input of both an email address and a password. The email addresses are needed particularly of access is restricted and/or involves some form of commercial activity, so that authenticating instructions and alerts can be sent to the participant (for example, because someone has posted a reply to his message), and the password is used to verify the identity of the participant.
All of these messaging systems exhibit the same limitations. A user in the main requires Internet access in the first place, to gain membership or approved access to the server hosting the messaging in order to read and post messages. In the case of BBSs, if a participant wants to know if someone has replied to his message, or wants to read any other messages/files posted to the BBS, he must wait for an email alert (which also requires him to log onto his Internet Service Provider), or regularly visit the BBS to check on the status of the messages on the BBS. This is time consuming and cumbersome. Where the BBS is set up for trading, or for auctioning, the time delay between making an offer, or a bid, acceptance of that offer or bid, and time delay between posting a question about the product and the response to such query can prove very frustrating both to buyer and seller.
It is now possible for users with mobile devices, such as cellular radio telephones, to access the Internet using the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), typically when the website is also hosted in Wireless Markup Language (WML). Users are able to dial-up to so-called “WAP Internet gateways”, and are able to access the Internet through a web browser provided with their mobile device. The user is therefore able to gain access to BBS's by means of their mobile device, but the same problems arise as with Internet access using other devices such as 4 personal computers (PC's). To use the WAP, a user must have a WAP-enabled device. It is not possible to access WML websites using older mobile devices. It is also typically more expensive to access the Internet using WAP devices, than using conventional PC;'s. At this stage, not all web sites are accessible via WAP devices, since not many websites have WML counterparts.
Another alternative to WAP access of content, BBS, Chat Rooms, or otherwise, is through the use of Sim Tool Kits or STK's and commands or keywords imbedded on the SMS message itself. STKs make it possible to access content using GSM devices in a manner similar to WAP access, i.e. through menu-driven navigation. The actual content accessed can be from the Internet or any other electronic source. STK's maintain a ‘similar feel’ to that of WAP in that a user is able to move up and down a menu of choices using his GSM device. STK's operate with SMS as the bearer and STK as the primary user interface on the mobile device. Though STK's can work on most legacy GSM devices, i.e., those that are not WAP-enabled, they do require the user to replace the SIM card of his mobile device. Another disadvantage of STK's is that the menu tree needs to be ‘burnt’ into the SIM cards. Once burnt, the tree structure of the menu cannot be altered.
The other practice is for users to access SMS-based content with the use of keywords. However, most users find the system unintuitive at best. Without the aid of instructions manuals, keywords are almost always forgotten, and if they are remembered, tend to be improperly used. Thus considerable amounts of SMS content traffic are improperly routed to the intended content providers.
In essence, menu type commands are difficult to maintain between a GSM device and a host server wherein the bearer of the instructions is SMS. The difficulty arises because a host server must “remember” what the previous action or choice of the user was in order to know where to take him next within the tree. Since SMS-based interactions between GSM devices and a host server take place in sessionless format, it is not readily apparent how the host server can accurately keep track of all the users previous actions. A session refers to interactions between a client and a server wherein a temporary electronic link is opened between the client and server for the real-time exchange of information. The session is terminated once the client is logged out or for any reason the electronic link is interrupted.
As described in the applicant's co-pending international patent applications PCT/SG00/00068, PCT/SG00/00069 and PCT/SG00/00070, all of which are incorporated herein by cross-reference, instant messaging systems can be provided that are effectively client type independent and can involve connectabilility with a server via the Internet or other computer network. Indeed, these systems can provide connectabilility with mobile cellular radio telephones that operate according to the GSM system and use SMS. As described, with SMS, a “Short Message Service Centre” (“SMSC”) provides a server system through which all SMS messages that are sent and received by client subscribers are handled. The messages are short, typically limited to 160 characters in length, and are sent between subscribers of the GSM network, with the SMSC server system processing the messages for delivery to the right destination using the GSM mobile number of the intended receiver. Under the SMS protocol, the textual message from the sender is initially sent to the SMSC server system using the cellular telephone network. The SMSC server system then stores the message and allocates it to the intended recipient for downloading, in accordance with normal GSM protocol, when the recipient is Identified to be active within a cell. As such, SMS messaging is typically described as that employing a “store and forward” scheme.
These applications describe how it is possible to connect to the Internet using a particular protocol, by virtue of the SMSC server system, dependent upon the particular GSM phone and network manufacturer. For example, Nokia™ use Computer Interface Message Distribution protocol version Two (CIMD2).
As described in the applicant's co-pending international application PCT/SG00/00092, which is also incorporated herein by cross-reference, it is known to provide WAP and SMS technology in tandem. Wapit.com™ provides a BBS where messages are posted via WAP, and participants are informed by SMS once a reply has been posted. In this instance, replies via SMS are carried out by embedding commands within the SMS message itself.
The applicant's previous applications all facilitate instant messaging in a manner that can be easily adapted to provide communications with a GSM client. This can be achieved in variety of different environments in the manner described in the applicant's co-pending international application PCT/SG00/00127, which is also incorporated herein by cross-reference.
In a similar manner to which the applicant's instant messaging system described in the aforementioned applications enables efficient and convenient communications to occur with GSM devices, the present invention seeks to extend this utility to messaging systems per se that may involve the use of electronic BBSs, chat rooms, trading forums or other types of functionality where information may be conveyed from one user or client to another for any purpose.
In another aspect of the invention, the applicant demonstrates a process of navigating through content, from the Internet or any electronic source, using SMS as the bearer to obtain information, for example, on how to use the system or to access particular features. Such process maintains the feel of a menu ‘tree’, without requiring the use of WAP access or STKs.